Burglar alarm



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Patented J une 27, 1922.'

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l. BURGLAR ALARM. APPLICATION FILED NOV. I3. |919.

1,420,743. Patented June 27, 1922.

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FRANCIS H. PHILLIPS, or OLD Weisman-RY, Nnw YORK.

BUBJGLAR ALARM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June i 27, 1922 Application filed. .November 13, 1919. Serial No. 337,707.

certain new and useful improvements in av Burglar Alarimot which the Vfollowing is a specification. Y

My 'nvention relates te burglar alarmsv and aims to provide means for automatically discharging a tire arm which will either scare or injure the burglar and at the saine t-ime put finto operation anv alarm 'for arousing the occupants of the house about to be entered, thus thoroughly protecting the property against trespassers.

A further object oi' the invention is to provide a device as mentioned above having` actuating means extending therefrom which enables the alarm to be used -in protecting various areas of properties, said apparatus being simple in structure, reliable in operation, and inexpensive'to manufacture.

A vfurther object of the invention lies in the provision of a casing resembling in appear-ance the stump of Ya tree, so asto eliminate the possibility of the actuating mea-'ns extending therefrom', attracting attention as tothe real contents of lthe casing.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

Inthe accompanying drawings forming a part of this specication and iii which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same, f

Figure 1, is an illustrative view showing my invention in use;

Figure 2, is aleen-tra] vertical section oi' the casing; l

Figure', is a view looking ldown on the casing with the top removed;

Figui-rea, is a fragmentary sectional view on linea-4 of Figure 3;

` Figure 5, is a detail view of the gage rod used in connection with my invention;

Figure 6, is a fragmentary front view showing the position of the gun relative to the outside of the casing; and

Figure 7, is a fragmentary rear' view.

ln the drawings, wherein for 'the purpose of illustration l have shown a preferred embodim'ent of Vmy invention, the numeral 5 designates a substantially *rectangular shaped casing which resembles in appearance the :stump y.ot-a tree, :thus preventing suspiciony from being aroused as to its real l contents, One end of the casing is pro-vided with a removable panel 6 which is hingedly connected with the main casing as at 7, to permit access zto the interior thereof. Adjacent the upper end of the casing and rigidly secured to the sides thereof is a substantially 'U shaped shelf oriiange 8 that is disposed in a horizontal position.y Spacecl slightly from the front-end of the casing is .a vertical extending upright 9 the lower gend .of which is Seated .in a longitudinally tending recess .l0 While the Lipper and iS Secured within the 'U shaped ,shelf or lange 8. The central portion of the upright is provided with an annular recess V11 .having an aperture 12 through its center that is 'in alinement with the ,opening 13 through the side of the casing. Extending between the two openings and disposed 'therein is a tubular barrel 11i, .the ,inner end of which entends` slightly within the annular recess 11 and is eXteriorly screw threaded toV receive the angular shaped collar 1,55y seated within the recess. The interior of the collar is screw threaded'. to .receive the exteriorly screw threaded :breech 'block 16 having an openingthrough its center as at 17. A'strip ospring metal 18 is rigidly secured to the upright ,directly belowr the 'breech bl eck having its upper .end slightly -olffset from the upright, as at 19. lntegrally projecting from the inner side ofthe offset portion 2O is .a tiring pin 21 adapted to .register and Tpass throughthe opening A17 ,in the breech block 16. An .annular `.ring '22 vsurrounds the breech block and collar holding said part-s rigidly in their respective position. `A-cellar 23f'is carried by `Athe barrel 14, being posi,- tioned in front of rthelupright 9%.

` The hammer of the .device comprises a pail" of longitudinal .Strips 0f .metal 2l, .0f resilient material, 4beingjoined throughout .their lelie'th i The upper end @if the Strips are bent at a right angle, as at 25, being ixedly secured to the upper edge of the u pright "9 by bolts or othersuitable means. 'A brace strip 25 extends across `the upright passing over the hammer and is attached to the sides of shelving 8 in any suitable manner. The lower end of the strips entend downwardly having at their lowerk ends @an enlarged Vhead A26 which is .adapted to abut with the head 27 attached to the .outer side ofthe oset portion 19 of the arm 18. The opposite sideol the-enlarged head 26 is provided with a rectangular shaped washer 28 that is spaced therefrom by the collar 29 and secured against displacement by the nut 30.

Extending across the rear upper end of the casing is a tapering shaped lever 31, the apex of which is pivotally connected with one side of the shelf 8 as at 32. The opposite end of this lever extends in close proximity to the opposite side of the casing and is apertured to receive one end of the cable or rope 33. The movement of the lever is controlled by the U shaped bracket 34 which passes over the lever and is secured to the shelf adjacent its inner edge. The purpose of this lever is to hold the hammer head 26 in an inoperative position, as clearly shown in Figure 2. Thus when the head is forcibly drawn upwardly the lever is' placed between the head and washer 28 being held in this position by the coil spring 35. This spring has one end connected to the lever while its opposite end passes through an opening in the panel 6 of the casing and its tension isv adjusted by the pivoted lever 36 which when in a horizontal position interposes the coils of the spring. The cable 33 is the means employed for actuating the lever 31 and extends through an opening 37 in the forward end of the casing being attached to any object at a remote distance from the casing. Thus should any trespasser come in Contact with the cable a slight pressure will draw the lever forward, so as to release the hammer which through its resiliency will swing downwardly with sufficient force so as to drive the firing pin 21 inwardly into contact with the cartridge 38 placed within the barrel 14, the bore of the gun being so placed that at the time of its discharge the trespasser will be in the direct path of the bullet and will either be injured or scared by its discharge. In order that the actuating cable 33 may be positioned at various distances from the ground, I have provided a gage rod 39 which is formed from a longitudinal strip of metal pointed at its lower end, as at 40. to facilitate its erection. Along one edge is provided a plurality of spaced downwardly extending angular slots 41 for the reception of the cable for the purpose specified.

A pair of switch contacts are suspended from the inner edge of one side of the shelf 8 in spaced relation between the upright 9 and the lever 31, as indicated by the numerals 42 and 43. Running from the switch contacts are wires 44. one of said wires running direct to a bell or other annunciatorv which may be disposed within the house which is being protected. while the other wire is interposed by a plurality of storage batteries 45 which furnish the current for ringing the bell. Pivotally attached tothe switch contact 43 approximately intermediate its length is the switch arm 46 that when extended in a vertical position is of such length as to contact with the longitudinal edge of the lever 31, as clearly shown in Figure 4. Then in this position the switch. is open, but when the lever 31 is moved forward by the actuating cable 33 the switch arm 46 will be moved past the vertical axis of the contact 43, being drawn down into contact with the' switch point 42 by the spring 47 that has one end oo nnected with the switch arm 46 and the opposite end with the switch contact 43.

When the switch is closed the bell will ring arousing the occupants of the house and notifying them that someone is entering or is trespassing upon their property.

In use, the casing which resembles in appearance the stump of a tree is erected in a secluded place upon the property which is to be guarded. The actuating cable 33'may be extended to any remote position from the casing and adjusted at a reasonable height from the ground by the gage bar 31, so as to obstruct the passage of trespassers upon the property. Pressure exerted upon the actuating cable by the trespasser will move the lever 31 forward so as to release the hammer 26 which swings downwardly with sufficient force to discharge the cartridge 38 within the barrel 14. The barrel 1.4 is spaced to one side of the cable so that the cartridge will be discharged at approximately the same time when the trespasser is in the direct path of the bullet. Upon release of the actuating cable thelever 31 will be withdrawn by means of the coil spring At the same time the cartridge is discharged the switch arm 46 will be moved so that the coil spring 47 will draw it downwardly closing the two switch contacts and ringing the bell which is disposed in any desirable place within the house upon the property. Thus it is obvious that a trespasser or burglar who comes in contact with the apparatus will either be injured or scared. while at the same time the occupants in the house upon the property will be notified.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that certain changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, l claim In a device of the character described, the combination with a casing simulating the stump of a tree, of an upright within the casing and spaced from the wall thereof, a gun barrel passing through the upright in the casing, a ring pin associated with the barrel, a resilient arm normally holding the pin in a retracted position, a hammer consisting of resilient longitudinal strips of metal having one end secured to the upper end of the upright, a slotted head' secured to the free end of the harnnier and adapted to Contact with the firing pin, a shelf surrounding the upper edge of the casing adjacent the top of f the upright, a lever pivoted to one side of the shelf and extending across to the opposite side, said lever engaging the slot of said head to hold the hammer in a raised or firing position, spring means to prevent accidental displacement of the lever, and tripping means for releasing the lever permitting it to swing downwardly to c'ontact with said liring pin.

In testimony whereof, I have aliiXed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANCIS H. PHILLIPS.

Witnesses: l

THOMAS WARREN, LAWRENCE DIGKrNsoN. 

